THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2006
Volume 5, Issue 64
Santa Monica Daily Press A newspaper with issues
DAILY LOTTERY
Kidnapping suspect takes to the stand
SUPER LOTTO 7 14 20 21 47 Meganumber: 24 Jackpot: $7 Million
FANTASY 5 6 19 26 31 35
DAILY 3 Daytime: Evening:
BY RYAN HYATT
344 968
Daily Press Staff Writer
DAILY DERBY 1st: 2nd: 3rd:
01 Gold Rush 02 Lucky Star 09 Winning Spirit
RACE TIME:
1.46.33
Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the winning number information, mistakes can occur. In the event of any discrepancies, California State laws and California Lottery regulations will prevail. Complete game information and prize claiming instructions are available at California Lottery retailers. Visit the California State Lottery web site: http://www.calottery.com
NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY
CHUCK
SHEPARD
Stephanie Conley gave an agent for West Virginia National insurance company a $174 check on Aug. 15 (in 2001) for automobile coverage, received the “issued” policy on Aug. 30 ("effective” Aug. 15), and on Aug. 31 was involved in a collision resulting from her negligence. However, by then her $174 check had bounced, and the company considered the policy null and void. In December 2005, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled that Conley was nonetheless covered on Aug. 31 because the company had not given her 10 days’ cancellation notice.
TODAY IN HISTORY Today is the 26th day of 2006. There are 339 days left in the year. On Jan. 26, 1788, the first European settlers in Australia, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, landed in present-day Sydney. In 1802, Congress passed an act calling for a library to be established within the U.S. Capitol.
QUOTE OF THE DAY “As long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think, free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost, and science can never regress.”
J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER
AMERICAN PHYSICIST (1904-1967)
INDEX Horoscopes
LAX COURTHOUSE — The man suspected of kidnapping a Santa Monica elderly woman twice, then escaped from authorities while on trial for unrelated charges, took to the stand in his jury trial on Wednesday and claimed he had never been to Santa Monica. Alfonzo Fitzgerald Taylor also testified on Wednesday that crucial evidence with traces of his DNA found near the scene of the crimes — a T-shirt and snowcap — were stolen from him prior to the incidents, though no record of the theft was produced by his attorney. Taylor walked away from the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles the day before a separate jury trial was set to begin last May on charges of receiving stolen property and unlawful driving of a vehicle, an incident independent of the two alleged kidnappings of a Sunset Park woman that occurred in the fall of 2004. Taylor, in his 40s, was captured in Georgia and returned
A thirst for knowledge BY CAROLYN SACKARIASON Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL — Now into his second week as Santa Monica’s top administrator, Lamont Ewell is approaching his new job as a
sponge — soaking up all he can, including the warmth of the city’s residents as well as the weather. Ewell, 52, formerly the City Manager in San Diego, sat in his office on the second floor of City Hall this week, discussing his
three-pronged approach to stepping into his role: Learn, learn and learn. Ewell had just come from a meeting with the staff at Big Blue Bus, learning about the operation, their issues and what challenges lie ahead. For the past nine days, Ewell’s met with dozens of people — from department heads to city staffers, City Council members to community groups, and even average citizens on the street. Moving into a shortterm rental near Cloverfield Boulevard and Colorado Avenue just before the holidays, Ewell said he has spent that time riding his bicycle about town, picking residents’ brains to see what concerns them. “I would strike up conversations with people without telling them I was the City Manager and I was left with a great impression,” he said. According to Ewell, one of his more notable conversations was when he stopped a city employee to ask for directions, the staffer See EWELL, page 12
LAMONT EWELL
Making some headway
See TESTIMONY, page 13
LOCAL
Council hits brakes on reshaping future BY KEVIN HERRERA
Talk up a storm, Scorpio
2
Daily Press Staff Writer
Snow & Surf Report Water temperature: 56°
3
Opinion Cut residents a brake
4
State A laborious study
5
Business Stay on a roll
8
MOVIEGUIDE Times up
15
Comics Strips tease
16
Classifieds Ad space odyssey
17-19
CITY HALL — Without a clear path in sight, the City Council voted to remain put Tuesday night, declining to lead the city down what they believed to be roads of uncertainty posed by alternative land use and development plans. At issue is Shape the Future 2025, a comprehensive action plan detailing how the city of Santa Monica should evolve over the next 20 years. It deals See SHAPE THE FUTURE, page 14
Fabian Lewkowicz/Daily Press Heal the Bay volunteers Shannon Lee (left) and Alicia Cooper examine a 3 1/2 foot California moray eel at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium.
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